One to remember and one to forget

Although the wrestling team entered their second match of the night on a high note—an unusual feeling for a team that is facing potential elimination—after defeating Pacific University convincingly, the night ended with the squad still searching for their first dual win over a PAC-10 opponent. 

And while the result was less than what they expected, the team and coach seemed pleased with the progress that the squad is making, despite losing to the Titans, 37-9.

Senior Henry Kofa, who wrestles at 149 pounds, was one of two Vikings to defeat his opponent, and looked fluid and confident as he defeated his opponent.

“There was great intensity out there,” Kofa said. “Everybody wrestled great.”

Before the match began, team members took turns pacing back and forth behind the team seats as the Vikings prepared for just their third home match of the season.

With a look of desperation in their eyes and dealing with the pressure of possibly having their team disbanded later this year, it seemed like the Titans would be in for a long night.

But over the course of the match experience and talent were served as Cal St. Fullerton took eight of the 10 matches.

When the match was over, head coach Mike Haluska seemed pleased with the results but wished that senior Alex Bubb and junior Ryan Sonderegger had been able to pull out victories instead of narrow defeats.

“These guys are starting to figure out that they can compete at this level,” Haluska said softly and proudly after the match’s conclusion.

Vikings wrestler Bryan Cantrell had an impressive win in his bout, as the senior pinned his opponent just moments after the match started. The pin was Cantrell’s second of the night and third in his last four matches. It also improved his overall record to 13-6.

Cantrell said the team wrestled “pretty tough” and thinks that if they work on “staying aggressive” that they will continue to improve as a team.

As proud and confident as the Vikings seemed on Sunday night, the squad still has yet to register a victory against a PAC-10 opponent with their next opportunity coming this Friday when they take on Stanford. The Cardinals are also winless within conference play.

Kofa plans on “training, training and training” for next week’s bout, in which the Vikings will once again face two opponents on the same day in Princeton and Stanford.

“We’ve got to go in with a great attitude,” Kofa said, while Cantrell added that the team has to “keep their heads up and stay focused.”

Haluska is quick to say that the members of the roster, even in the face of the uncertainty and in the absence of the sweet air of continuous success, “believe” in the team.